Liquid treatment of textile materials and the like



Nov. 7, 1933. A. J. PFEIFFER ET AL 1,934,203

LIQUID TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Filed June 5, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 H u n. /a

A/herf J P/e/ffer and Mayer P Gafes.

INVENTORS k ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1933. A. J. PFEIFFER ET AL 1,934,298

LIQUID TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Filed June 5, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7724 0" f. Gafes.

INVENTORS M ATTORNEY 1933- A. J. PFEIFFER El AL 1,934,208

LIQUID TREATMENT OF'TEX'T'ILE MATERIALS AND THE LIKE Filed June 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mayer/. Gmes.

INVENTORS syiiiag fm ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNITED smrizsv PATENT OFFICE.

LIQUID TREATMENT OF. TEXTILE lVIA'IE- RIALS AND THE LIKE Albert JrPfeiifer, Port Washington, N. Y., and

Thayer P. Gates, Providence, R. I.

Application June 5, 1930. Serial No. 459,372

Claims.-

the treatment of raw silk preparatory to the throwing operation and, for convenience, will be described in connection. with this operation. Heretofore it has been the general practice to take the packages of raw silk as received, enclose them in bags, and place them in open vats containing emulsions of soap and oil which act to render the silk sufiiciently pliable for, working. The silk is left in the emulsion from twelve to fourteen hours and even then the degree of penetration and uniformity of results are not entirely 29 satisfactory.

The effectiveness of this liquid treatment of the silk may be indicated with considerable accuracy by the color effect produced by tinting material, in theform of a fugitive dye, which is commonly used for identifying the silk after it has been wound on cops or other devices on which the silk is wound. When the silk is treated in a vat with an emulsion containing the tinting material, the latter is taken up slowly by the silk and, upon inspection of the silk, it will be seen that the tint is not taken uniformly. According to the present invention the treatment of the silk by the emulsion may be eifected in a comparatively short I time, say two hours, and the treatment issub 5 stantially uniform, as will be indicated by the uniformity of the tinting if tinting material is used in the emulsion.

An important object. of the invention-isto pro vide an improved method of liquid treatment of 40 the character specified. Another importantobject of the invention is to provide means for carrying out the method.

Other objects and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view; 1 Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the apparatus; and

details of construction.

The objects of the invention may in general be attained by maintaining a mass of the mate-1 rials in a definite position and subjectingit to the :actionof the treating liquid underpressure, 7

as by forcing the treating liquid therethrough.. In a more specific form of the method, tl 1e treating liquid may be forced through the mass in different directions at different times, for example,

the direction of movement of the liquid through the mass may be reversed at intervals. The pre-" ferred apparatus for carrying out the invention includes a container (of the same general nature as a kier) having a central vertical casing, to receive thelmaterial to be treated, devices engaging the material from above and from below to prevent vertical movement thereof while permitting passage of the treating liquid, and outside fluidtight connections between the-bottom -of the central casing and the top thereof to form I a closed path forthe fluidwhen forced through the mass of material. The apparatus may also include means. for circulating the liquid so as to pass thetreating liquid alternately inopposite directions through the material to be treated. It will be apparent that considerable pressure may be necessary to force the treating liquid through the material tobetreated. Referring to the drawings, 10 designates acyl inder of suitable materialresting on a bottom plate 11 and provided at a higher levelwith an openwork support 12 for-the material, such as raw silk, placed in the cylinder, The open work support 12 is preferably in the form of a plate having perforations of suitable size and the edges of s'aid perforations are finished so as to avoid damage tothe silk or other material to; be treated.

-n view of the fact that the silk to be treated j comes into direct or substantially directcontact with the surfaces of the cylinder 10 and support I 12, these parts which are preferably of metal or 7 metal alloy, should'be made of material capable ofr esistingcorrosion by the liquid. Otherwise the silk would be in danger of discoloration by contact therewith. The plate .12 is supported by suitable means here shown asanglesl3 Welded to the cylinder 10 and to the plateat its lower side. The connection between .the lower edgeof the cylinder 10 and the bottom plate ll shouldv I,

, 10 in either one direction or the other, it is neces 1 05 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section showing.

done in different ,ways but preferablyby means i of an outercylindrical metal shell 14 connected at as bottom with the plate 11, as" by a fluid tight 11o" 10 and the annular chamber surrounding the.

same will be described hereinafter.

The cylinders or shells 10 and 14 are subjected to heavy stresses and the inner cylinder 10 is reinforced not only by the plate '12 but also by 15 spacers 15 of strap iron connecting the upper end thereof with the cylinder or shell 14. Preferably the ends of these spacers extend perpendicularly from the main bodies thereof and are connected with said cylinders or shells by welding. The outer shell 14 is illustrated as reinforced at its lowerend by an annulus or ring 16 of angle metal having an inwardly projecting horizontalflange engaging the bottom plate 11 andan upwardly projecting flange engaging the outer surface of the shell 14, and at its upper 'end by an annulus or ring 17 having a downwardlyextending flange engaging the outer surface of the shell and an outwardly projecting horizontal flange 18. Preferably both of the rings 16 and 17 are secured in position by welding.

The apparatus is illustrated as supported in raised position above the floor or ground by means of a'stand made of strap iron andhaving legs 19. At the ,top of each leg the metal strap :15 bent down to present a part on which the horizontal flange of the ring 16 rests. To fasten the'metal straps to the ring 16 at. such points, the lower flange of the ring 15 is supplied with flat head cap screws 20 inserted from above through suitable openings so that in their final positions the heads will lie flush. with the'upper surface of the flange. These screws may be threaded'into the metal straps adjacent the up per ends of the legs ormay pass through open-i ings in the straps and be provided at their lower ends with nuts to clamp the parts together.

At its top the'apparatus is provided with a strong cover 21 having an annular rim'overlying the flange 18 and resting on a ring 22 of H packing material held in a metal channel 23 arranged in a ring at the inner edge of the flange 18 and secured thereto by a fluid tight weld. The cover should be'clamped tightly in closed position during operation of' the apparatus and to this end it is reinforced at its outer edge by a "metal ring 24. The clamping maybe effected in any suitable manner and, as here illustrated, this is doneby providing at suitable intervals around the flange 18eye bolts 25 pivotally mounted-at-their eyes on a rod 26 arranged in annular form and held in position at the lower surface of the flange. To accommodate the eye bolts, the flange 18"is provided with slots ,2? extending to its edge and corresponding slots 29 are provided in the cover and the reinforcing ring 1 24. Threaded on the upper ends of the eye bolts are nuts 30 of considerableheight and provided adjacent to their upper ends with cross pieces 31 to facilitate the turning thereof by hand. This arrangement enables the cover to be clamped down tightly while at the same; time the cover can easily bereleased for removal by loosening the nuts 30 andswinging the eye bolts outwardly beyond the outer ends of the slots 29. 5 The material is placed in and removed from the cylinder 10 while the cover 21 is off. As will be brought out more clearly hereinafter, it is necessary to hold the material in position during treatment. To this end use is made of an openwork member 32, preferably a perforated plate similar to the supporting plate 12, suspended from the cover 21 by spacers 33, similar to spacers 15, which serve to press the plate 32 down against the contents of the cylinder 10 and hold them inposition during the treating operation.

The connections at the lower part of the apparatus will now be described. As best seen in Figs. 1 and 3, the annular chamber between the shells l0 and 14 is connected at the right hand side with a downwardly extending conduit or pipe 34 and at the left hand side with a corresponding conduit or pipe 35 and from pipes 34 and 35, generally horizontal pipes or conduits 36 and 37, respectively, extend to three-way valves 38 and 39. The valve 33 may be turned 95 to a position to connect the pipe 34 withthe inlet of a centrally positioned pump 40 and shut off a pipe 41 connecting the valve with the lower end of the cylinder 10 beneath the perforated plate 12, or to a position to close the connections between the pipe 34 and the pump and also the pipe 41 and to establish a connection between the pipe 4l and the inlet end of the pump 40. The valve 39 maybe turned to connect the outlet of the pump with a pipe 42 connected with the 1:35 lower part of the cylinder 10 and to close the j connection with the pipe 35', or to close the con-. 1 nection with the pipe 42 and connect the pipe 35] with the'outlet of the pump. H

In order to'operate the two valves "38 and 39 simultaneously, arms 43 and 44 are secured to the stems of these valves and these arms are 7 connected by means of a link 45, and for convenience the operation of the valves may be effected by means of a handle 46 at the front of H the apparatus, As here shown the handle 46 is secured atits lowerend on a shaft 4''! rotatably mountedin a fixed bracket 48 at the lower side:

that, when the handle 46 is in its right hand position, the pump draws liquid downwardly through the pipe 41 and forces it upwardly 25-; through the pipe 35, and that, when the handle is in its left hand position the pump will draw liquid down through the pipe 34 and force it up through' the pipe 42. In the first case, the pump 40 will produce a vacuum beneath mate- 33.31 rialpacked tightly in cylinders 10 and pressure of liquid at the'upper' side of the material. In the second case, a vacuum will be produced at the top of the cylinder 10 and pressure at the bottom thereof. Ineach case, the vacuum on one side and pressure on the other will act together to force liquid through the material to be treated.

and as indicated in Fig. l is supplied to the upper part 'of the apparatus through a pipeor, line 53 controlled by a-valve54; Inasmuch as the pipe 53 enters the cylinder or shell 14 below thecover, air'willbe trapped in the upper part of the apparatus but may be forced out through a suitable air vent device 55 provided in the cover. The apparatus maybe drained through anextension of thepipe 34, which extension is normally closed by means of a drainage valve 56. For con: venience in handling, the cover 21, it is provided with handles 57 arranged symmetrically thereon,

In operation, high pressures are developed in the upper part of the apparatus and a vacuum in the lower part thereof when the liquid is forced downwardly through the material in the inner cylinder 10, and high pressures are developed in the lower part of the inner cylinder and a vacuum in the upper part thereof when the liquid is forced upwardly through the material. It is desirable to be able to observe-from time to time the pressure being developed so that when an excessive pressure is maintained the motor can be stopped. To this end, the apparatus is provided at its front and adjacent to the top thereof with two pressure gauges 58 and 59 arranged with the gauge 58 directly above the gauge 59, the upper gauge 58 being connected by means of a pipe or line with the upper part of the cylinder 14 and the lower gauge 59 being connected with lower part of the cylinder 10 by means of a pipe or line 61.

In recapitulation, the operation is substantially as follows: Assuming that the cover 21 is off, the first step is to place the proper amount of material to be treated, silk for example, in the inner cylinder 10. The cover 21 is then placed in position and clamped down tightly by means of the nuts 30, the perforated plate 32 engaging the silk at the top and holding it firmly in position on the perforated plate or support 12. With the drainage valve 56 closed, the treating liquid or emulsion is supplied through the pipe 53 and the open valve 54 until the apparatus is substantially full, the air being vented through the vent device 55. After closing the valve 54, the motor 51 is started and the pump 40 is operated thereby.

Assuming the valves 38 and 39 to be positioned as shown in Fig. 3, the liquid will be drawn downwardly through the cylinder 10 and thence through the pipe line 41 to the pump 40 which forces the liquid through the valve 39 and the pipe line 35 to the annular chamber between the shells 10 and 14 and eventually over the top of V the cylinder or shell 10 and downwardly therethrough. Upon throwing the handle 46 to the left, the direction of movement of the liquid through the material will be reversed. The handle may be thrown back and forth at suitable intervals and the treatment continued until the desired degree of treatment has been attained. Experience shows that more satisfactory results are obtained and in a very much shorter time than by the treatment heretofore in general use.

It should be noted that the apparatus is selfcontained-that is, is built in a single unit-and that the silk or material being treated is held firmly in position thus preventing tangling. Also the liquid is circulated in a closed circuit in that during operation of the apparatus all of the liquid is in circulation although in either of two directions.

It should be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts and that certain parts may be used without others without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 1. In apparatus for liquid treatment of textile material, the combination of an upright container, means for holding the material therein,

and means for selectively subjecting said material to a vacuum at one side and to pressure at the other including a pump, means for connecting the ends of the container including two connections with one end of the container, a threeway valve in each of said connections one being connected with the inlet of the pumpand the other with the outlet, and means for operating,

both of said valves simultaneously so as to draw liquid from one end of said container under a vacuum through one of the two connections and force it into the other end of the container or to force the liquid into the first mentioned end of said container through the other of said connections and to withdraw it under vacuum from said other end of the container.

2. In apparatus for liquid treatment of textile material and the like, the combination of a cylinderrto receive said material, an open work support for the material in said cylinder, an outside cylinder extending above the inner cylinder to provide for fiow of liquid over the upper edge of the inner cylinder, a cover for the outer cylinder, means for introducing the liquid into the outer cylinder through its wall, an air vent in the cover, and means for selectively subjecting said material to a vacuum at one side and to pressure at the other side a pump at the bottom of the apparatus, a three-way valve connected with the outlet of the pump and arranged to connect said outlet either with the interior of the inner cylinder or with the space between the inner and outer cylinders, a three-way valve connected with the inlet of the pump and arranged to connect the same with the interior of the inner cylinder or with the space between the cylinders, and means for controlling said valves simultaneously to effect a flow of liquid either downwardly through the inner cylinder or upwardly therethrough.

3. In apparatus for liquid treatment of texsupport for the material in said cylinder, an outside cylinder extending above the inner cylinder to provide for flow of liquid over the upper edge of the inner cylinder, a cover for the outer cylinder, means attached to'said cover for engaging said material and holding it down on said support, and means for selectively subjecting said material to a vacuum at one side and to pressure at the other side including a pump at the bottom of the apparatus, a three-way valve connected with the outlet of the pump and arranged to connect said outlet either. with the bottom of the interior of the inner cylinder or with the lower end of the space between the innerand outer cylinders, a three-way valve connected with the inlet of the pump and arranged to connect the same with the interior of the inner cylinder or of the inner cylinder, a cover for the outer cyl-,

inder, and means for selectively subjecting said material to a vacuum at one side and to pressure at the other side including a pump at the bot-. tom of the apparatus, a three-way valve connected with the outlet of the pump and arranged to connect said outlet either with the bottom of lower end of the space between the inner and outer cylinders, a three-way valve connected terial to a vacuum at one side and to pressure at the other including a pump having an inlet and an outlet, means for'connecting the ends of the container including two connections with one the interior of the inner cylinder or with the end of the container, one ofsaid connections be ing connected at an intermediate point with said inlet to form a three-way connection and the other of saidconnections being connected at an intermediate point with said outlet to'form a three way connection, valve means at each of said three way connections, and means for operating said valve -means substantially simultaneously so as to draw liquid'from one end of said container under a vacuum through one of the two-end connections and force it into the other end of the container or to force the liquid into the first mentioned end of said container, through the other of said end connection and to withdraw'it under vacuum tainer. V

ALBERT J. PFEIFFER; Y THAYER P. GATES;

from said other end of the con 

